Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has claimed Chelsea were “bigger and worse offenders” than Manchester City when discussing financial-rule breaches in English football.
His comments followed the Premier League finding City guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought against them. City deny wrongdoing and have appealed against the ruling.
Jordan’s argument focused on the different circumstances surrounding the two clubs. He said Chelsea had already benefited from Roman Abramovich’s major investment after his 2003 takeover, before tighter financial restrictions were introduced, while City had to operate under a more restrictive environment after their arrival among the leading clubs.
Chelsea admitted breaches involving undisclosed payments linked to Abramovich’s ownership. The club was fined £10.75 million, given a suspended one-year first-team transfer ban and received a separate nine-month academy transfer ban, alongside a further £750,000 fine relating to youth-registration breaches.
The undisclosed payments reportedly totalled £47.5 million between 2011 and 2018 and involved third parties associated with Abramovich. Chelsea’s cooperation and decision to self-report were taken into account when the sanctions were determined, while the Premier League concluded that the club would not have breached its profitability and sustainability rules even if the payments had been included in its accounts.
